It has long been a problem for stringed musical instruments (e.g., guitar) players to hold on to and get a firm grip on the string pick (pick) that they use to pluck the string. Musicians of stringed instruments such as, for example, guitars, banjos, ukuleles, bass, and harps, commonly use picks. A common problem for conventional picks is for them to spin out from the grip of the fingers during play. However, typically, there is a significant reluctance for musicians to learn to use new designs that may help over come shortcomings of traditional picks.
Traditional picks are usually flat, made of relatively stiff materials, and may be die cut or injection molded to achieve a desired shape. The stiffness of traditional picks results in a very different, often less pleasing, sound than when fingers are used to pluck the instrument's strings. Moreover, traditional picks often spin in the musician's hand while strumming and picking at least because they have a flat, smooth surface that is relatively hard to grip firmly. When gripping along the length of the pick there is a torque created that tends to leverage the pick free to spin it in the musician's fingers.
Some conventional picks have equal depressions formed on both sides of the pick; however, musicians often find gripping one side of such picks uncomfortable. Other conventional picks that attempt to improve picking ease and control have a curved, wave like shape with generally parallel top and bottom surfaces, whereby only a string engaging lengthwise end is flat (usually about one quarter inch at the end is flat) and the side edges are not flat. Although, such wave shaped picks are helpful in some applications, they suffer from many limitations by virtue of not being generally flat. For example, wave shaped picks are more bulky and do not fit in conventional pick holders, which musicians often use. Moreover, a wave shaped pick's flexibility is significantly different from predominantly flat designs of the same thickness. This flexibility behavioral difference is further unpredictably complicated when the thickness of the pick is changed. Many musicians will learn how to play a conventional pick of a certain thickness, and find it exceedingly difficult to quickly learn how to play a wave shaped pick. Additionally, musicians often find such picks very uncomfortable to play, especially at arbitrary gripping angles.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for constructing stringed musical instrument picks. For example, it would be desirable for an improved pick design that is adequately similar to traditional designs to minimize the need for musicians to relearn their pick training. It would be further desirable to allow the musician to comfortably grip the pick from many angles and achieve a finger-like strumming sound. Moreover, it would be helpful if as the thickness of the pick changed, these improvements are not lost or degraded.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.